The Hybrid
by Virginia Tallon
Summary: In order to save the Airbender race and end the war, Aang must make an extreme decision. Kataang, possible other pairings later.
1. What good is an Airbender?

A/N: Okay, this first chapter isn't very juicy, and I've still got to write the second chapter, but I hope you'll like this enough to keep watching for more. And as a warning, the subject matter will get increasingly heavy. For reals. Yo. Mmkay, here goes nothing!

"Y'know, this would be so much easier if just one of us was a firebender!" cried Sokka, waving two sticks in the air. They all smiled, but the little bald one hung his head. It was his fault they couldn't build a fire. It was his fault that they had to remain unknown to the Fire nation. A century ago, the ten year old Avatar had run away from the world, secured himself inside an ice sphere in the ocean. The Fire Nation took advantage of the missing Avatar, the only person who could hold the nations together in peace; they declared war on each of the other nations: Water, Air, and Earth. The Air Nation had been wiped out completely. That is, except for Aang. It had only been this year that he'd awoken; he'd been trapped in the ice for a hundred years. If it hadn't been for Katara and Sokka, the whole world would be controlled by the Fire Nation.

It was his fault, too, that they had to keep running, fixing up villages as they went. He couldn't be discovered; if the Fire Nation knew he was alive-- part of it did already-- they would find him and kill him, leaving the fate of the world in the hands of those sadistic Firebenders.

"He didn't mean anything by that," Katara said softly, touching his arm. Her twinkling blue eyes reassured him that there was no pressure. Aang had, after all, mastered air, water, and now earth. It was only a matter of time before he could find someone to teach him firebending, if they weren't out to kill him. He blinked and looked up. It seemed everything was so serious now, hardly like the first few weeks with only Sokka and Katara. Toph was an important addition to their team, however, and she had spunk. He found that most earthbenders were tough, but he'd never seen one this kick-ass, not to mention so skilled while blind. She was definitely his favorite person to fight alongside with: she meant business.

Sokka was something else. If there were ever words to describe him, they'd be something along the lines of uncoordinated, stubborn, slow-minded, and charismatic. But caring, nonetheless. Aang had seen how Sokka protected his sister, sometimes overly, but lovingly. He was noble, in his clumsiness, and Aang respected him. Sometimes.

Katara, however, he could not place a feeling towards. He often bounced between feelings, loving her sometimes, fearing her other times. No matter what, though, he cared for her. She was powerful, but if she really didn't want to be around him, she could have left at any time.

The fire was all but dead; tired embers glowed softly in the blackness. Aang bent near, and with a wave of his hand, a gust of air swept over the sorry looking pile of sticks and the fire leapt up into the air suddenly.

"There, problem solved," Aang said bitterly and rolled onto the ground, tugging a blanket around him. It was getting late; leading this team around was hard work enough, he'd collapse if he didn't get any sleep tonight. The others gazed at him with concern, but his back was turned to them and he'd already dozed off before any of them could say anything more.

The morning came on feathery wings, gentle and slow. The sun peeked over the horizon just as Aang climbed atop Appa. The fuzzy flying bison had been awake for a few hours, quietly munching on the leafy vegetation that rose from the hard earth, waiting for the others to arise. Momo was asleep on the expanse of his head, tiny white body rising and falling with each breath.

"Unhh.. Aang?" Katara grunted, rolling over in her sleeping bag to face him. He tensed for a second, but turned around with a weak smile. Katara's blurry eyes cleared and she saw the fully dressed Avatar, packing things into the giant saddle Appa wore. He was already awake and ready to go, it seemed.

"You're up awfully early," she said, voice just above a whisper. She didn't want to wake the others. "Did you sleep alright?"

Aang scratched his head. He couldn't tell her how he'd slept. She'd worry. The truth was, he'd had nightmares all night long, awful dreams lashing out with horrible, imaginary tentacles. He tried to pull his expression together; mustn't show your breakdown. Although he wasn't sure if he'd had a meltdown or something lesser, like a dilemma. Nothing seemed to be easy these days, though, so he couldn't just dismiss it.

"Uhh, I couldn't sleep last night, had a little too much beans." He faked blushing, anything to get her away from that subject. His problems didn't need to become the whole group's problems.


	2. Redefinition of Family

A/N: I know, I know, the age is wrong on the first chapter. Aang really should be twelve. Right? Hehe, I can never keep it straight in my head.

This chapter's a bit short, but it's still kind of an introduction into the main story. Besides, you should be grateful that it's here; for the longest time I wasn't even going to continue this fic, I thought the idea was horrible. But I guess I'll keep writing, if so many people want me to! Thank you all for your reviews, faves, and alerts!

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The marketplace was bustling with business, each seller yelling over his competitors' offers. "Llama-bear milk, only twenty pieces of copper!" "Fresh meat!" And, as usual, a greying old man, crying, "Crisp green cabbages!" He eyed the gang suspiciously, spreading his arms to protect his goods. Aang and Katara laughed, knowing that eventually they would stumble upon the cart, somehow, someway. The cabbage seller was never safe.

Sokka wandered off to ogle some fine swords, and Toph had been lost in the crowd for several minutes, never overjoyed to hit the town. Aang made his way through the masses, Katara following close behind, toward a large cart promising healing potions, love potions, strength, invisibility, and other various potions and elixirs. Aang looked up to watch the old lady, spewing somewhat incoherent words from her aged lips.

"Only seventy-nine copper pieces to win the man of your dreams!" It was more of a croak than a shout. Katara fingered a bottle, turning it over in her hand. No clear list of ingredients, only clever names for herbs she'd never heard of before. She set it back down only to catch sight of a young family, a little one atop his father's shoulders. An ordinary sight, usually. But something was different. The mother was fair and soft, bits of green dancing in her eyes. The father's features were obscured by a wide-brimmed straw hat, but for the most part, Katara thought he looked normal. No, the difference was in the children. The two older ones, though each greatly younger than Katara, had pitch black hair, coarse and short, even on the girl. Their eyes shone red and amber in the midday sun. Not a normal Earth Kingdom trait. The littlest one, clutching to his father's neck, had finer, softer brown hair, and his amber eyes lit up at the sights around him. Something here was different; like nothing the world had seen.

Aang returned to her side, sloppily munching on some odd-looking melon. With pink juice running down his chin, he asked, "Hey, who are they?"

Katara frowned, interest growing inside of her. "I don't know," she mumbled. "But let's find out."

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Other A/N: If you'd like to help, I need some appropriate names for the family names, the love potion lady, etc. I'm not quite the best at coming up with names for characters on other shows. Keep reviewing!


	3. A Mystery Revealed

**A/N: I know it's been forever since I updated, but having seen some newer reviews, I felt compelled to start writing again. Be patient if the writing sucks at first. I've gotta find interest in the story again. Thanks SO much for reviewing, it means a lot that people think I'm good. **

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Aang approached the family cautiously, dodging offers from insistent vendors, weaving through the mostly Earth Nation people. No one had caught sight of him, yet. A dark brown cap sunk down over his eyes, concealing the blue arrow tattoo that raced across his scalp. Otherwise he wore a mute green poncho and dirt-brown trousers, accompanied only by a worn pair of brown slippers, which had been fished out of the village's trash heap. He was lucky they didn't stink.

Katara followed close behind, pushing politely through the crowd. She could just see the father, amidst the moving sea of faces. His eyes were shielded, still, but something told her that this family wasn't ordinary, at least not like the other Earth Kingdom families. Her gaze lingered on him, lost in thought, and a troupe of Earth Benders paraded past her, cutting off her view. She looked back to Aang, but in his place stood an old, bald man with a walking staff and one tooth that stuck out of his mouth. She frowned. Where had Aang gone?

"Excuse me," she said, stepping between chatty shoppers, suddenly focused on finding the little Airbender. She sighed. Why did she have to be distracted so easily? She cut through another clump of people, none sporting a brown cap or a goofy expression. "Excuse me," she repeated and wiped her nervous brow as she changed directions, stretching onto her toes to see above the crowd. He couldn't have gone far, she told herself. After all, how far could one twelve-year-old boy walk in two minutes' time? She cursed. Knowing Aang, probably about a mile a minute. Double that if he used his airbending abilities.

She was just about to turn back and find Sokka and Toph when a gentle hand reached out from the crowd and grasped hers. Her head jerked to the left. Aang stood smiling at her, his eyes gentle and reassuring. "Let's not get lost just yet." His voice was soft, innocent. Then a wicked smile sprouted from his lips. "I wanna see what's going on with this family!" And he was off, racing through the crowd, tugging Katara along. Curiosity was often what drove him to do the crazy things he did. But perhaps this time it wasn't so crazy.

The crowd thinned out near an old wooden building, and just beyond the corner stood the tall man, his straw hat snatched off by the young child on his back, revealing deep red eyes, ones Aang had never seen in any Earthbender. Come to think of it, he'd only ever seen such a color in the eyes of Fire Nation people. His breath caught sharply. Suddenly, it all made sense. The odd children, the mystique, the father's hat. He whispered something to Katara, low and inaudible except to her.

"No way," she breathed in amazement. "That means... The little one? A hybrid? How?" Her blue eyes were lit up in surprise. Aang shrugged in response and gestured with his head toward the family. Katara received his silent message and continued walking toward them, cautious and nonchalant, as if they were just passing by. Then she turned on the charm.

"Oh, what a cute little baby!" she cooed, catching the young one's excited gaze, a strange amber gaze flickering out at her. The mother stepped closer to her husband protectively, but greeted Katara with warmth.

"Isn't he? I'm surprised he's so calm, though. Usually he's bouncing off every wall and ceiling, bursting with energy." She looked at him lovingly, and turned back to Katara. "Would you like to hold little Kieren?" Her tone was gentle, inviting. Katara nodded eagerly and stepped closer.

The dark-featured father lifted the child from his back and gently placed him in the waterbender's waiting arms. The gesture was warm, but his hands were cold and dry. _Like a serpent's_, Katara thought, but then scolded herself. Just because every firebender she'd ever met had been cold and cruel, it didn't mean this one was the same. Considering his family and chosen habitat, she had to admit he wasn't like the other firebenders. She held the warm child in her arms, shifting his weight to her arms and off of her shoulder. Little Kieren looked little but felt nothing like it. He burbled and giggled in her hold, his little amber eyes fixating on Katara's grandmother's necklace. His chubby little hand groped at it, passing it between his fingers in fascination. Katara pulled it off her neck and stowed it in her bag before he could start sucking on it, which she knew he would. He was adorable, in every aspect. His soft brown eyelashes battled with his black hair, and yet his mismatched features all seemed to harmonize, to blend together in a beautiful composition. Plus, Katara was a sucker for dimples. His gummy smile made her heart melt. Right then she wished she had a child, a little one to love and feed and care for, something more than a pet. Her heart yearned for it at that moment, needed it more than anything in the world, as she stared down at cute little Kieren. Suddenly his warmth was swept away, and Katara snapped out of her dream. _Right. Matters at hand._ She turned to the child's mother, who was cradling him softly in her arms. Katara severely hoped there weren't tears coming out of her eyes. Her voice was raw as she tried to speak, but----

Thankfully Aang spoke then, having noticed none of Katara's baby-induced trance. "Hello. I'm Aang, and this," he said, gesturing, "is Katara."

"You're not from around here, are you?" the mother asked, shifting her gaze from Kieren to Aang and then back again.

"N-no," Katara stammered, but finally revived her basic motor skills. "But neither are you, am I right?" Her look was inquisitive, but the parents took her words with some caution nonetheless.

The mother and father exchanged nervous glances, and then the father spoke. "What do you want from us?" He spoke softly, quiet enough that no one could overhear their conversation.

Now Aang and Katara exchanged glances. What did they want? Aang wasn't aware that they could have something, right off the bat. He turned to the father.

"We don't _want_ anything. Except maybe we could ask you a few questions, if you don't mind. We're just curious." He smiled innocently, as only Aang, the Avatar, could. A quick bat of the lashes. Who could resist?

The mother spoke first, quietly. "I suppose it's alright, if you're not out to report us. We were just on our way home; you could come with us." The father stood tall and strong, but still wary of Aang and Katara. He didn't trust them as quickly as his wife had. But he gathered the other children and led the way, up a winding path to their tiny house.

"Report them?" Katara whispered to Aang, suspicious and confused. What secret did this family harbor that was worth reporting them? And to whom?

A/N: Soooooo? What do we think? I have new ideas for what happens next, but I'm only gonna write 'em if you want to see more!


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